1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an apparatus and method for performing verification using a property description language in design of an electronic system including digital circuits.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an electronic system including digital circuits is designed using a low-level description (a description close to hardware such as signal lines, latches, and the like) called an HDL (Hardware Description Language). This method expresses inter-IP (Intellectual Property: soft assets, circuit components) communications and IP status management using signal lines. However, this method suffers problems, i.e., it requires a long design period and high cost.
In recent years, a method called ESL (Electronic System Level) design, which makes a circuit design using a design description language such as C or the like that allows a high-level description, begins to be used. The ESL design can express an inter-IP communication using a description with a high abstract level using function calls in place of signal lines. In this manner, the efficiency of a circuit design period and cost can be improved.
On the other hand, the HDL-based design begins to use a method using a description called “assertion”. Assertions are formally described using a language called a property description language. PSL (Property Specification Language: IEEE1850) is an example of such language. According to the assertions, the IP behavior can be strictly and partially expressed using a description with a high abstract level. By checking if an event expressed by the assertion and that expressed by the IP design description using a simulation or static variation, the IP can be verified.
The property description that considers discrete time phases designates a generation order or interval of events to be generated in the IP. Since the conventional property description language is intended to be applied to HDL, it can only designate a change in signal line as an event. The ESL language often expresses the inter-IP communication as function calls as a description with a high abstract level in place of changes in signal line. Since the conventional property description language cannot designate events associated with function calls, it cannot express any behavior associated with a communication using the function calls.
A known example (for example, see JP-A Nos. 2007-94891 (KOKAI) and 2007-94591 (KOKAI)) that handles assertions described for the design description of the IP described using HDL does not solve a problem unique to the ESL design that cannot designate events associated with function calls.
Many studies about assertions have been made in languages such as C and the like used in the ESL design. However, these studies handle assertions for normal software. Therefore, they are not suited to use applications that handle assertions based on verification unit times such as clocks and the like unique to hardware including the ESL design.
As for application of assertions to the ESL design, NSCa (US2006/0277534) of JEDA is known. This known example is a method of performing verification by converting assertions for a general-purpose programming language into that programming language. However, function calls of the programming language are made from the assertions to describe the behavior with reference to return values, but a problem that the order of events associated with function calls cannot be designated remains unsolved.